Cortical Indexes of Saccade Planning in Infants

Abstract

This article briefly reviews the development of cortical involvement in saccadic eye movement in young infants. A distinction between reflexive and voluntary saccadic eye movements is made, and developmental changes in the neural systems controlling these eye movements are discussed. Cortical indexes of saccade planning in adults have been measured using scalp‐recorded, event‐related potential (ERP). The ERP may be useful in distinguishing reflexive and voluntary saccadic eye movements in infants. In the remainder of this Thematic Collection, 3 studies are introduced that used ERP measures to infer saccade planning in young infants, and 2 short articles comment on these studies.